


baby look at me, you're my superstar

by shinyeons



Category: ITZY (Band)
Genre: F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Crack, actress ryujin, new drinking game: drink everytime ryujin swears, singer lia, this was supposed to be crack but it gets emotional sometimes... i mean i tried
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-09
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-11-14 15:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18055037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinyeons/pseuds/shinyeons
Summary: Ryujin was pretty sure falling in love with her famous, talented and extremely pretty fake girlfriend wasn't part of the long contract she signed during that reunion.orA deal between two agencies drags actress Shin Ryujin and singer Choi Jisu into a fake dating mess.





	baby look at me, you're my superstar

**Author's Note:**

> hello everyone, i'm back with another itzy fic!
> 
> so, to make everything clear:
> 
> Ryujin - 17 years old, rising actress (think of her like a 17yo lee sungkyung)  
> Lia - 18 years old, popular singer (think of her like a 18yo iu)
> 
> hmmm i tried to correct some mistakes while writing this but there's probably a lot of them i didn't see so... pls go easy on me :( i hope you guys enjoy it!
> 
> (title from superstar by marina)

Ryujin was having a bad day.

 

No, screw that — Ryujin was having the absolute worst fucking day of her entire life.

 

The actress even thought she was being overly dramatic for a second, listening to her mother's stern voice at the back of her head reminding her that  _there's always someone out there having it worse than you_ , but then her mind started going through all of the unfortunate events of the day and yeah, she had every right to be pissed.

 

First of all, there was no trace of food left inside of her freezer.  _And you couldn't really blame Ryujin for that._

 

The actress had barely spent time home since her new drama shooting started a week ago, keeping herself alive with nothing but the food coming from the tiny convenience store across the street her manager knew a bit too well. So yeah, no breakfast for Ryujin that morning.

 

Second, one of her co-workers kept hitting on her.

 

She was flattered at first, she  _really_  was. He seemed like a nice guy and kept his distance the first time she politely declined his offers and said she wasn't into boys. But the actor seemed to have shoved the information right up on his ass because he wouldn't stop bugging Ryujin and flirting with her in the most inappropriate moments.

 

Rumors says Ryujin kicked his right ankle so hard that the guy was unable to finish shooting his scenes because of the pain. But rumors are just rumors.

 

Third, she managed to spill hot coffee over her favorite shirt.

 

Not only did she absolutely fuck up her precious black shirt — which has a huge  _I Hate Mondays_  in white letters written on it — but the actress also had threw her only chance to stay sane and awake out of the window.

 

Ryujin only felt at ease when her manager, noticing the girl was ready to murder the first person she sees with her own bare hands, decided to stop by a small restaurant and bought her a good, fulfilling meal. A  _real_  one this time, not some convenience store noodles who barely had any taste.

 

But the sudden peace was abruptly taken away from Ryujin the moment her manager received a mysterious call and did her best to not let the actress listen to anything that was being said, jumping out of the van when the rising star stubbornly came closer to her, trying to make something out of the hushed mumbles that were being exchanged.

 

Ryujin pouted and crossed her arms around her chest, looking a lot like an annoying child who was told she couldn't have her favorite candy for the first time in her life. The stress was obviously starting to get into her brain because usually  _she_   _wouldn't give the slightest fuck_  about this kind of situation, but the conversation seemed so secretive and so about her that—

 

"We'll have to go to the agency now."

 

_Fuck._

 

That's when Ryujin was sure that the world — her own private, little world — was about to end.

 

A fishy conversation and a  _we'll have to go to the agency now_  weren't exactly the best combination, Ryujin knew it from experience. The last time something like this happened her career was,  _quote_ , about to end,  _unquote_ , all because of some pictures dispatch took of her waiting for someone late at night at a park.

 

It was utterly embarrassing to explain that she was just waiting for Mina, her older stepsister who she missed a whole lot because yeah, she was a fucking baby who ran away from her apartment at two in the morning because she was feeling like could use some of her  _favorite_   _unnie's_  love and affection, and not because she was a  _reckless teenager_  — like the articles would say — looking for some  _troubling midnight adventures_.

 

(Ryujin always wondered why dispatch always had to choose the most dramatic words to describe the most normal things. Like, they definitely could have just named it  _Actress_   _Shin Ryujin alone at a park at two in the morning_ but, of course,  _troubling midnight adventures_  sounded more fitting to whoever was writing that article.)

 

Yet there she was again, with a coffee stained shirt sitting in the reunion room with the agency's CEO, — who looked uncharacteristically happy for a Monday afternoon — some other old dude she didn't know, her manager and a few familiar faces from the agency, who didn't look as pleased as the two men sharing secretive looks with each other.  _What the fuck, are they dating each other or something? Gross._

 

After a few minutes of nothing but pure awkward silence, the glass door was open and  _holy fucking shit, what is she even doing here?!_

 

Ryujin knew the shy girl standing uncomfortably behind a taller woman —  _her manager, the actress supposes_  — and she was pretty sure there wasn't a single living soul in South Korea who didn't. Ryujin often hears people saying that even those who died before her  _boom_  knew about her, because that's just how famous the girl was.

 

Shit, Ryujin thinks that even own her fame can't come close to what the girl standing in front of her has, so what exactly was  _South Korea's top singer Choi Jisu_  doing at the same building as her?

 

"Oh, great, you're finally here!" The man Ryujin still has no idea where he came out from exclaims excitedly, clasping his hands together.

 

The girl can only nod before bowing to everyone in the room, making Ryujin almost break her back in two because  _holy shit, Choi Jisu is right here and just bowed at me, what the fuck is happening._

 

"Shall we start the reunion?" The CEO suggests, breaking Ryujin out of her panicked trance and making the actress ( _who was suddenly hit by a wave of self consciousness_ ) sit straight on her chair, hands awkwardly landing over the table as she watches the singer take a sit beside her.

 

Only then Ryujin realizes that she's looking (and probably smelling too because, well, black coffee had a  _very_  strong and unique scent) like a ten-year-old child with her ruined shirt in front of the country's most popular singer but it is, unfortunately, too late for her to do anything about it.

 

(She still feels like throwing herself out of the transparent window next to her seat, though.)

 

"So, me and this gentleman right here," The CEO starts in a failed attempt to be funny and Ryujin feels like throwing up all the food she had earlier "Have decided to join forces and..."

 

_They're definitely getting married._

 

"Make a deal between our agencies..."

 

_Oh._

 

"And, maybe, release the most popular dating news of the year..."

 

_Oh._

 

"Between singer Choi Jisu and actress Shin Ryujin."

 

_Oh._

_Wait._

_What the actual fuck—_

 

"What?!" Ryujin and Jisu let out the scream in unison, unable to believe what they just heard.

 

"This is a joke, right? I know it is." Ryujin laughs nervously but gulps when no one else in the room follows her.

 

_This can't be happening. No, no, no, hell no._

 

"It's an amazing idea!" The other man starts, clearing his throat to gain attention. "Think about it: Ryujin, the bad girl who's a reckless teenager," the actress nearly chokes at the unexpected mention of her previous scandal, and she's about to turn eighteen so she's not a  _reckless teenager_   _for_   _fucks sake_  "and the nation's little sister, Jisu, dating! The fans would go crazy and those who aren't would want to become one in the blink of an eye."

 

Ryujin is speechless, to say the least. She's about to get up and leave the room in a classic  _reckless teenager_  style when the girl sitting beside her slams her hands against the white table, making Ryujin freeze in place and focus completely on what she had to say.

 

"You want me to pretend i'm dating someone I barely know for money and publicity?"

 

The girl sounds angry — no, she sounds absolutely pissed, like she had been holding everything in for a long time and it makes Ryujin wonder if the singer had a day as bad as hers. Maybe even worse, because the actress swore she could see some tears starting to form at the brink of the girl's eyes and  _god help me, i'm not emotionally and physically ready to see an angel cry in front of me._

 

The room was dead silent and the girl took that as a chance to go on. "Yeah, whatever. Let's sign these papers. It's not like I was about to ask someone I really like to be my girlfriend, anyways."

 

Yeah, Choi Jisu was definitely having it worse than Shin Ryujin.  _I told you so_ , her mother's voice screams at the back of her head and Ryujin can only sigh.

 

"I'm sorry, Jisu—"

 

"Don't start," the singer cuts the man's words with a surprisingly low and stern tone and Ryujin wonders how much power Jisu holds inside of her agency. "Let's just sign the papers and end this stupid reunion already, i'm exhausted."

 

The awkward silence falls over the room again and the two old men extend the papers towards the two girls hesitantly, almost as if they were afraid they would create a scene and rip the contracts apart.

 

Well, after seeing how hurt the other girl was about this whole thing, Ryujin kind of considers the option. The only thing holding her back is the fear of being called a " _reckless teenager"_ one more time by that weird men wearing a suit too tight for his body sitting on the other side of the table, awkwardly tapping his fingers against the thick glass.  _Ridiculous_ , Ryujin thinks as she scoffs and finally proceeds to read the contract placed in front of her.

 

• The stars have to meet at least once a week for the first six months.

 

 _Six months._ Ryujin massages her forehead with her fingertips.

 

• The stars have to post at least three pictures with each other in every social media for the first month.

 

_Three pictures in a month? Wow, they really want us to look like a cheesy couple who can't stay away from each other for a second._

 

• An article will be published after a picture of the stars kissing in a park at night is released by Dispatch.

 

_A what? A kissing picture?! We have to kiss for a camera and act like our entire lives aren't about to change after that?_

 

_Bullshit._

 

Ryujin groans and glances at the girl sitting beside her, looking as cold as a freezer as she signs every page, making the actress wonder if she had even read the rules before doing so.  _She seems to have accepted her awful fate pretty fast_ , Ryujin thinks before she continues the painful reading of the stupid words written on that piece paper and  _what in the world do they mean by making lots of fan service? Are they in some idol group now? Did she ignore that part of the paper?_

 

Yeah, her day couldn't get any worse.

 

**—**

 

Ryujin is finally back to the comfort of her apartment after listening to countless hours of instructions and exchanging numbers with Jisu — her new girlfriend now, it seems — and to be honest there was nothing else she wanted more than to sleep for twelve hours straight and—

 

 _Beep. Beep._ The phone screen lights up.

 

Who was messaging her at 10pm? She was pretty sure her friends would be all sleeping now, or making out with each other —  _absolutely_   _gross_  —, or studying for an upcoming test in the  _ever so_   _sweet and innocent Yuna's_  case. In one way or another, they were all too busy with their own lives to be texting Ryujin at night.

 

_Only if—_

 

 **amazing singer who's now my fake girlfriend**  
_hey! i'm sorry to text you out of nowhere haha_  
_are you up? :)_

 

Ryujin almost lets her phone fly out of her hand when she reads the message, trying to get her shit together as quick as possible so she can start typing out a reply for the girl.

 

 **ryujin**  
_no problem haha_  
_yeah i'm pretty awake :))_

 

Ryujin cringes internally because one, she never uses  _haha_  and typing the awkward laugh made her want to crawl under the covers and two, why did she have to say  _i'm pretty awake_  when she could've just replied with a simple  _yes_? Or would that make her come out as too cold and unreachable? Her texting crisis is interrupted by the loud  _beep_  coming from the phone in her hands.

 

 **amazing singer who's now my fake girlfriend**  
_would you like to meet up? i mean if you're okay with that, i totally understand if you don't want to see me_  
_but you're kind of the only person who understand the situation i'm in and i would like to vent about it haha :/_  
_but really it's okay if you're tired don't feel pressured or anything_  
_and i'm talking too much_

 

Ryujin smiles at the screen, feeling something warm bloom inside of her chest as she reads the singer's small rant over and over again. The girl seemed to be pretty cute and friendly at least, and Ryujin was ridiculously aware of the amount of time they would have to spend together from now on so why not make a new friend through this hot mess she was shoved into?

 

Then she realizes it's been at least three minutes since she started spacing out and that probably it was making the other girl overthink and regret all of her life choices, so she blinks twice in an attempt get her shit together and starts typing.

 

 **ryujin**  
_oh yeah i'd really like to!! this whole thing is pretty fucked up tbh ://_

 

 _She already knows that, you moron. And you just_ _sweared_ _in front of her. Not exactly in front of her but— fuck. I have to stop_ _swearing_ _or else i'll never get rid of the reckless teenager image._

 

 **ryujin**  
_where should we meet? anywhere you want is fine for me, i can get there p fast with my motorcycle_

 **amazing singer who's now my fake girlfriend**  
_oh, so you're really a bad girl who rides motorcycles at dawn and everything? i really hit jackpot huh_

 

Ryujin blushes.

 

 **_ryujin_ **  
_ohhhh shut uppp_

 **_amazing singer who's now my fake girlfriend_ **  
_lmao_  
_you know that one coffee shop who stays pretty close to my agency? just beside a school?_

 **_ryujin_ **  
_been there a few times_

 **_amazing singer who's now my fake girlfriend_ **  
_cool! we can meet there then :)_  
_be careful and don't forget to use your helmet_  
_i don't want my girlfriend to die before the world even knows we're dating_

 

Ryujin blushes again. Harder this time.

 

 **_ryujin_ **  
_oh stopppp!!!!_

 

Yes, the great Shin Ryujin who has a legion of loyal fans ( _mostly girls, which she is extremely grateful for_ ) screaming her name everywhere she goes is nothing but a  _useless lesbian_  in front of pretty girls. Specially the flirty, pretty girls who sing like and look like angels. Ryujin  _really_  couldn't keep her strong facade in front of those.

 

Jisu sends one last message saying she's leaving her house and Ryujin decides to do the same, throwing her favorite leather jacket over her back before leaving the apartment with a smirk plastered on her face.

 

—

 

Ryujin parks her motorcycle in front of the coffee Jisu talked about fifteen minutes later, kind of irritated because of the unnecessary traffic she had to face on her way there. But all the stress melts away when she sees Jisu, wearing a mask to hide her face and a light blue dress who falls perfectly over her delicate body.

 

_Holy shit, she's pretty. Too pretty._

 

Ryujin decides to stop making a fool of herself in public and hops off her motorcycle, shaking her head in an attempt to fix her hair in a very  _movie-like_  movement, black helmet still firm on her hands.

 

"Oh, you really do look like a bad girl. I can't really blame the articles about you." Jisu says as she comes closer to Ryujin, laughing at the way the actress's nose crunched up in disapproval at the mention of the numerous fishy articles going around about her personality.

 

"Who said i'm not?" Ryujin asked nonchalantly as they made their way inside the shop.

 

Jisu raised an eyebrow at the question, silently opting for not answering it. "Dating a bad girl. Sounds a lot like a middle school fantasy."

 

Ryujin thanks the heavens above she already has her mask on by the time Jisu says those words because she's sure as hell her face is red as a tomato for the nth time that night. Was Jisu really that flirty or did she just think it's funny to do that to the actress because they're " _girlfriends_ " now? Ryujin doesn't know the answer to that question yet, but she's more than eager to find out.

 

They order and Ryujin writes a mental note that says  _Choi_   _Jisu has a sweet tooth_. You know, for future occasions, nothing else.

 

The two girls sit as far away from the other tables as possible, even though the shop was close to empty, just to be safe. The place is cozy and is decorated with tiny white lights who reminds Ryujin a lot of christmas, making her smile fondly at the happy old memories overflowing her mind and damn, she really was a baby. She feels the urge to text Mina, but decides she shouldn't wake up her hardworking sister just to be a whiny baby and say she misses her. For the hundredth time that week. Not that she's counting or anything.

 

And, of course, Jisu is sitting in front of her right now, sipping cutely on her coffee and the actress remembers she has something a little bit more important to do than crying because she misses her older sister.

 

(She could go back to do that later, maybe when it's three in the morning. Yeah, definitely when it's three in the morning.)

 

"So, tell me about it." Ryujin starts, finally taking a sip of her bitter coffee. Jisu furrows her forehead in confusion. "About the girl you like. Tell me."

 

The singer's face falls visibly and Ryujin almost regrets mentioning it, but then she remembers the reason she had left her apartment a few minutes ago was because the older girl needed to rant, and Ryujin was willing to listen for as long as the girl might need.

 

"Yeah, that," Jisu starts, playing with the straw inside of the half empty coffee cup. "Do you know Jeon Somi, the singer?"

 

Ryujin almost chokes on her drink and she thanks god her grip on the cup is firm enough because she would lose her mind if she ended up having burning black coffee all over chest.  _Again_.

 

"I do, she has nice songs," Ryujin answers in a calm voice, trying to cover the fact she almost had a heart attack because yes, pretty girls are  _indeed_  always surrounded by other pretty girls. The fact Choi Jisu had a fling with Jeon Somi was enough to prove the accuracy of that theory.

 

Jisu nods, smiling fondly and something inside of Ryujin's chest aches at the view in front of her. "We know each other for quite a long time and we were supposed to debut together in a girl group. Crazy, isn't it?"

 

The smile in Jisu's lips doesn't reach her eyes and Ryujin has to look away for a while, nodding her head slowly as she glances at the plastic cup placed in front of her. "As you can see, destiny had other plans for us and today we're both soloists. We had always been close, but during these past few months something... sparkled between us? It was clear that we liked each other as more than friends."

 

Ryujin nods again, taking a long sip of her drink this time.

 

"I was going to ask her to be my girlfriend next week," Jisu bites her bottom lip anxiously. "But things didn't quite go as I planned."

 

The actress's heart was broken. Jisu seemed to really like Somi, and knowing she had to give up on her own happiness and on the girl she likes for a stupid contract her agency shoved down her throat was infuriating. And even when everything in her life seemed to be falling down, she still found a way to be nice to Ryujin. Would Ryujin do the same if she was on her shoes? To be honest, she doesn't know — but she wholeheartedly admires Jisu for it. She sure had a lot to learn from the singer.

 

"I'm so sorry."

 

Ryujin feels stupid for saying those words. She feels like she should say more, say that Jisu was incredible and that she deserves all the happiness in the world, that she looked way too pretty in a blue dress with her cute black mask hanging under her chin, that she should smile more often because Ryujin is sure her smile is beautiful even though she had only seen the sad version of it so far. Ryujin is so deeply sorry that even when she's dying to say something else, to add some light to her phrase, those three meaningless words are all the actress manages to blurt out.

 

Jisu smiles. It's still a sad smile, but it makes Ryujin's tensed muscles relax for a while.

 

"What about you?" The singer asks and Ryujin looks up from the transparent straw she's holding between her fingers. "What do you think about all of this?"

 

Ryujin shrugs. "It's not like I have someone I like, but it pisses me off that we're being used to make money. I mean, that's basically the truth behind being a star, but you know what I mean," the actress takes one last sip of her coffee. "And I kind of hate what they're making you go through. And by  _kind of_  I mean a  _lot_. I really wanted to punch both of their faces during the reunion."

 

Jisu laughs and Ryujin vibrates silently.  _She's laughing, she's laughing!_ "They can be a real pain in the ass sometimes."

 

"Men." Ryujin says, voice and features filled with nothing but disgust, and it makes Jisu break in a laugh again, louder this time.

 

"Men." The singer agrees, following Ryujin's expression but in a funnier, exaggerated way. And then both of them are laughing again.

 

 

 

None of them seemed to want to go home after leaving the coffee shop, just standing awkwardly beside each other with their backs turned to the glass door that had a few red lights attached to it, illuminating the empty sidewalk.

 

"So," Jisu started and Ryujin immediately glanced up at the older girl, like she was expecting her to say something for as long as they have been standing there. "Do you want to go to the park? It's a few blocks away from here."

 

Ryujin nods and Jisu seemed to be ready to make her way through the dark streets by walking, but the actress had another thing in mind.

 

"Take this," Ryujin handed Jisu an extra helmet she kept with her in case of an emergency, and the singer's face immediately turned red. "What? You never rode one of these?"

 

The older one shakes her head and Ryujin smirks. "There's always a first time for everything, let's go."

 

Jisu hesitantly jumps on the motorcycle and struggles to find her balance, whining for a while before she finally could stand over the unexpectedly comfortable seat without a problem. Ryujin, on the other side, is doing her best to not burst out laughing at the singer's evident struggle, but she's just too cute to handle.

 

Ryujin decides to be bold and wraps the girl's arms around her thin waist, looking over her shoulder as she did just so she could wink at the older one, who was clearly flustered by the actress's actions.

 

"Ready?" Ryujin asks and she feels the singer nod, so she just turns the vehicle on and darts through the quiet midnight streets of Seoul, silently enjoying the way Jisu's arms seemed to be completely glued around her waist, unwilling to let go.

 

Ryujin loves nights like this, when it's just her, the stars in the sky and her motorcycle disappearing through the familiar corners of the city she grew up in. It's still funny to her how she ended up becoming an actress — eight years old Ryujin who used to dream about becoming a professional motocross rider would be very disappointed at her slightly taller, snobbier seventeen years old self.

 

(Eight years old Ryujin would absolutely love to be called a  _reckless teenager_  someday, that's for sure. Seventeen years old Ryujin shivers at the thought.)

 

But she isn't alone with the stars and the moon this time. She has a pretty, older girl grabbing her waist  _for dear life_ and giggling nervously on her ear everytime she does a dangerous curve, and even though Ryujin never imagined something like this would happen to her, she thinks she can get used to it.

 

Jisu's grip around her body gets stronger.  _Yeah, she definitely could get used to it._

 

 

—

 

 

 _Popular singer Choi Jisu and rising actress Shin Ryujin were caught in a secretive meet up last night, check it out!_ — that's what it said on the bright screen shoved up on her face at nine in the morning.

 

_Well, fuck._

 

"Shouldn't we at least be allowed to get along with each other since we're like, you know, girlfriends now?" Ryujin asks matter-of-factly as she glances incredulously at the old man in front of her.

 

"You guys were meant be seen together in public next week, not  _yesterday_!" He exclaims and Ryujin can only shrug, completely unamused.

 

She's not in the mood to start a discussion at nine in the morning, when she barely knows her own name and, most importantly, should be sleeping and resting in her bed because she had no schedules for the day. And she was sure that  _sleeping_  and  _resting_  did not include her  _stupidly annoying boss_  in any form of way.

 

The man continues. "The article says the both of you went to a coffee shop, then Jisu was on your motorcycle and you guys disappeared."

 

Ryujin nods. It was all true, she wouldn't even try to deny it — specially when she knew she had absolutely  _no reason_  to do so. The boss chokes.

 

"W-where did you guys go? Don't tell me you went to some adult party— no, don't tell me you went to that club at the fifth street? Did you use fake IDS? Jesus christ, your career is over, this agency is over—"

 

"We just went to a park."

 

Ryujin turned around so abruptly in her sit that she could even hear her own bones crack, releasing a relieved sigh when her eyes met Jisu's.

 

"Oh, thank god," Ryujin mutters under her breath and the singer just smiles at her, taking a sit in the same chair as the first reunion.

 

"I know the contract said they shouldn't be seen in public before the  _d-day_ ," The other old man — Jisu's boss — starts. "but now, everyone is curious to know how the two of them know each other, or since when they know each other and, most importantly, what is their  _relationship_  with each other."

 

Ryujin hides her face in her palms and proceeds to mutter a bunch of swear words under her breath because she knows very well where this conversation is leading.

 

"We should keep making the girls see each other to tease the public, to make people eager to know more about what they have and then  _boom_  — we release the dating news."

 

_Of fucking course._

 

The actress's boss seemed satisfied with what the other man said, shaking hands with him as he smiled like he had won the lottery. Ryujin rolled her eyes.

 

"It's set!" He cheered. "You should see each other every week now,  _every day if you'd like_!"

 

Ryujin sighs and turns her attention to the girl sitting beside her, trying to read the singer's mind. Sure, they had said they wanted to see each other again after Ryujin dropped Jisu at her place last night and  _yes_ , they kept texting until they fell asleep, but Ryujin wasn't sure if the other girl would be pleased to do it all again when she's being forced to.

 

But then Jisu smiles at her, a reassuring curl of lips this time, and Ryujin realizes she shouldn't make such a fuss out of that situation. It was just spending time with her  _fake_ girlfriend and maybe  _real_  new friend — what could possibly go wrong?

 

 

 

Everything goes wrong.

 

No, not exactly  _wrong_. It's not like it's a  _they fought and want each other to die and go to hell_  type of wrong, no.

 

The thing is that after two weeks full of Jisu, her pretty smile, her soothing voice and her warm embrace, Ryujin starts to detect something different inside of her chest — and she knows damn well what it is.

 

It's the same thing who bugged her for months the first time Mina showed up at their old house with a new friend —  _Jihyo, who is now Mina's girlfriend of two years_  — when they were still kids, or when Son Chaeyoung showed up at school with a new, bolder haircut.

 

The name everyone uses to call that annoying little thing who makes her blush everytime Jisu touches her is nothing else but  _feelings —_ not the ones you usually have towards your friends and family, but the  _crush_  type of feelings, and Ryujin is not sure if falling for your fake girlfriend was a good thing.

 

After all, Jisu still liked someone else. And being in a fake relationship with Ryujin wouldn't make the singer's feelings for the other girl disappear out of nowhere,  _even if the actress selfishly wished it would_.

 

It didn't help that, when she was busy shooting her new drama, Jisu would always make sure to check up on her through sweet text messages asking her if she had eaten, if she got enough sleep or if she wanted to meet up after her heated schedule was over — which lead them to a bunch of other coffee shop  _dates_ , who most of the times ended up at a movie theater or at Jisu's house, where they would spend endless hours talking about everything and nothing at the same time.

 

Jisu is incredibly talented, Ryujin learns as the older one starts opening up to her. The girl wanted to be a writer when she was a kid, then a musician, and eventually she ended up mixing a little bit of both into her singing career, which started when she was just fourteen.

 

Jisu explains that, even though her success came pretty fast, it doesn't mean that she didn't have to work her butt off to get where she is now like a lot of people tend to say — and Ryujin is a little too familiar with the frustration behind the singer's sincere words.

 

She acts like she doesn't care, because most of the time she really  _doesn't_  — but it would be a lie to say, after endless nights studying scripts and shooting a bunch of scenes till dawn on days she barely got any sleep, that the malicious comments didn't get to her sometimes. She was still a seventeen years old girl, after all.

 

That's why it was nice to have someone like Jisu in her life — someone who truly understands, who knows how hard and exhausting their careers can get sometimes. And, most importantly, a new friend who treats her way too kindly, kinder than the actress believes she might deserve.

 

To keep it short, Choi Jisu was an angel. And, even if the actress didn't want to, she was falling for her.

 

 

—

 

 

It was about time Ryujin started doing some of the things mentioned in the new contract, so she decided to grab her phone and make a surprise live stream to talk to her fans — and, of course, about Jisu.

 

The actress did a great job in ignoring the questions about Jisu for the first thirty minutes, focusing in spreading some facts about her new drama character, you know, to not make it  _obvious_. But then the question  _what does Choi Jisu mean to you_  came up on the comment section and Ryujin couldn't help but to giggle softly as she thought about it, face growing redder with each passing second.

 

"Jisu is... an angel? Yeah, something like that." Ryujin answers truthfully, scratching the back of her neck to hide how embarrassed she feels after blurting those words out loud. "She's really special to me."

 

Ryujin smiles and proceeds to read and answer other questions normally, pretending not to notice how everyone was freaking out at the mention of Jisu's name. She's doing pretty well in masking her emotions, but then her other phone — the one for friends and family — rings and she almost lets everything fall from her hands when she reads the display name shining on the screen.

 

 _Holy fucking shit, I need to change it_ , Ryujin thinks as she changes  _amazing singer who's now my fake girlfriend_  to just  _jisu unnie_ in the blink of an eye, picking up the call right after she was done.

 

"Hello?" Ryujin asks and then puts the phone on speaker.

 

"I'm an angel, huh?" Jisu says in a mocking tone and Ryujin rolls her eyes at the girl's antics.

 

"You were watching my live, huh?"

 

Ryujin raises an eyebrow and smirks at the camera when the singer goes silent for a second.

 

"Of course I was," Jisu scoffs. "I'm your fan, after all."

 

Ryujin blurts out laughing and Jisu joins her, causing the two girls to spend a good minute trying to regain their breaths. The fact that Jisu could make Ryujin laugh so easily at the most stupid things, even when they weren't even meant to be funny,  _even when they were separated by distance_ , was one of the many reasons why the actress warmed up to the older girl so fast.

 

Ryujin's lips curled up in a content smile when she started reading the comments the viewers were writing about Jisu. She was loved,  _so_  loved that it made the actress feel slightly better about the situation she found herself in. It was simple, everyone loved nation's daughter Choi Jisu — how could she not love her, too?

 

And when their quick but funny phone call comes to an end, Ryujin decides to stop the live stream too, waving her fans goodbye before finally letting her body fall down onto the bed. The actress knew she wouldn't be able to keep the  _lovesick fool_  expression out of her face for a good hour after that unexpected call, so she comes to the conclusion that it's better to deal with that fact alone, not in front of thousands of viewers.

 

But then the phone laying beside her vibrates, and when Jisu's name shines on the screen one more time she starts to realize that her heart wouldn't have a lot of time to rest that day —  _or ever again_.

 

 **_jisu unnie_ **  
_come over my parents aren't home ;)_

 **_ryujin_ **  
_your parents are never home_  
_you live alone jisu_

 **_jisu unnie_ **  
_stop ruining all of my jokes you emo kid_

 **_ryujin_ **  
_nah_  
_but why should i come over_

 **_jisu unnie_ **  
_just want to hang out with my girlfriend_

 

Ryujin's heart aches, but in a good way.

 

 **_amazing singer who i kind of like_ **  
_is that enough reason for me to leave my soft warm beautiful cloud-like bed_

 **_amazing singer who i kind of like_ **  
_well. yeah_  
_and my bed's warmer :)_  
_and i'm warmer :)))_

 

Sometimes its hard for Ryujin to believe they know each other for just three weeks. They were very comfortable with each other — maybe a little too much for Ryujin's weak heart to take, specially when the singer tended to act absurdly flirty whenever the two of them were left alone.

 

 **_ryujin_ **  
_omw_

 **_amazing singer who i kind of like_ **  
_i knew it would convince you ;)_

 

Ryujin feels her palms sweat _._

 

Not to mention Jisu was incredibly bold, too.

 

**—**

 

 **ryujin**  
_would you uhhh open the door?_

 

Ryujin giggled to herself after sending the message to the older girl, resting her back against the huge white door. Jisu lived in an amazing place, way nicer than Ryujin's apartment in the younger's opinion and, even though she was more than used to frequent fancy places, that neighborhood still made her feel out of place sometimes.

 

Ryujin was so immersed in her own thoughts that she didn't even hear the sound of the keys, almost losing balance when the door behind her suddenly moved. She decided to ignore how hard Jisu was trying not to laugh at her clumsiness and how pretty she looked even when she wasn't all dressed up and finally walked in, being guided to the singer's room immediately.

 

"Security let you pass without calling me this time." Jisu pointed out as she sat down comfortably on her bed, patting her side so Ryujin could do the same.

 

"Well, why wouldn't they let your own girlfriend in?" The actress asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively at the singer and Jisu slightly smacked her exposed arm in response, making Ryujin pout. "Queen of flirting doesn't like it when I do it?"

 

Jisu scoffs. "That's my thing, you can't steal it."

 

"Oh, look at you, you're  _all_  red! This is  _so_  cute!" Ryujin teased and pinched Jisu's flushed cheeks, much to the latter's dismay, who did her best to free herself from the actress's evil —  _and insanely strong_  — hands.

 

Before any of the girls could notice, the two of them were engaged in a heated pillow fight and making a mess of Jisu's  _always so neat_  bedroom; blankets were at the ground, pillows were over the singer's computer table and Ryujin's bag somehow flied all the way to the other side of the room.

 

But  _mess_  wasn't the only thing filling the older's bedroom at that moment — there was pure and genuine happiness in every corner of it too. The feeling of having someone, of having a  _real friend_ , it was there, it was strong — and Ryujin was addicted to it.

 

Or maybe she was just addicted to the sweet idea of Choi Jisu herself.

 

And before she could get even more lost inside of her own thoughts about the older girl laying tiredly beside her after ten rounds of pillow fights, she felt the weight of a body being pressed over her's.  _Shit, holy fucking shit—_

 

"I actually called you because I heard the stars would look beautiful today," Jisu started, looking down at the actress and completely oblivious to what she was doing to Ryujin's poor heart. "Do you like stargazing?"

 

Ryujin's eyes were nostalgic as she smiled truthfully. "I love it."

 

Little Ryujin used to go stargazing with Mina every Friday after both of them were done with their homework. The actress used to feel safe at the company of her sister at the top of a silent hill, admiring the way the shiny little dots looked in the vast night sky above them.

 

She remembers the last time they did it, just one week before Mina had to leave for college. Ryujin was devastated and all she wanted to do was cry her eyes out, but she held it all in her for her sister — she was making her dreams come true after all, and that's when she knew she should do the same.

 

Ryujin joined an acting agency a month after Mina left for college and, looking back at it now, everything was worth it. If she had chosen to ignore her dreams she wouldn't have played amazing roles which made her popularity increase in the blink of an eye, it wouldn't have made her have amazing fans and of course, it wouldn't have made her meet  _Jisu_.

 

And when the older's warm hands grabbed her cold ones, pushed her body out of the bed and took her all the way to the roof of her house, she knew she made the right choice.

 

"Look, isn't it beautiful?" Jisu asks dreamily as she looks up at the sky while pressing both of her hands together under her chin, making her look just like one of those scary angel statues you see in churches.  _Except she isn't scary_ , Ryujin thinks,  _she does look like an angel, a beautiful one._

 

"You're beautiful." The actress blurts out and starts panicking inside a few seconds later.

 

_What the fuck did I just say?_

 

"I mean—"

 

"You're beautiful too, Ryujin." Jisu interrupts and her voice sounds so sincere that it makes the actress feel like a small child again, not quite sure what she should say next.

 

"Uh," Ryujin clears her throat awkwardly. "Thanks."

 

The singer nods, simply going back to stargazing as Ryujin tried to regain her breath because  _what the hell was that? Does she want me to die? Yeah, she definitely wants me to die._

 

A while after the incident —  _and after Ryujin had spent a lot more time contemplating Jisu's beauty instead of the stars_  — the two girls head back inside because it was starting to get cold and none of them wanted to get sick, specially when they were about to have a packed schedule in the next week.

 

They laid comfortably over the blankets left at the ground and talked about their day —  _that was mostly Jisu, since Ryujin was the type who listens more than she speaks_  — but after a few moments of conversation Ryujin noticed there was something bugging the older girl, and she wouldn't forgive herself if she let it pass.

 

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ryujin asked softly, not wanting to surprise the other girl with her sudden question.

 

Jisu turned around to face Ryujin and, as much as the actress wanted to, she couldn't take her eyes off the breathtaking girl in front of her.

 

"Did you mean it?" Jisu asks, confusing the actress. "I mean, when you said I was like an angel— did you mean it?"

 

Well, Ryujin did not see that one coming  _at all_  — and she had absolutely no idea why the singer suddenly sounded so fragile.

 

"Yes, I did." Ryujin decided to answer the older's question with sincerity, no jokes and no teasing this time.

 

"Why do you think i'm an angel?" Jisu asks again, eagerly this time. "I-I'm sorry to ask you this, it's just— no one ever called me that."

 

Ryujin feels her chest burn with the singer's words and it takes her a lot of self control to not engulf the girl in front of her in a bone crushing hug.  _For fucks sake_ ,  _is Jisu even aware of how special she is? Screw that,_ Ryujin thinks,  _if she doesn't, she'll know now._

 

"You want to know why? Okay, here it goes." Ryujin starts, clearing her throat. "You're the kindest person I have ever met in my life. You're kind to everyone, from people who talk to you in the streets to your stupid old boss who deserves none of your sweetness," Jisu laughs softly and Ryujin takes that as a chance to go on. "You have a beautiful smile, a beautiful voice and a beautiful heart— you came like a light in my life and you make me want to become a better person. I have never seen an angel but, if we go by the definition of it, you're the personification of one, Choi Jisu. So don't ever feel like you're not special enough, okay?"

 

The actress only noticed how much she had talked when she saw a single tear falling down Jisu's cheeks, making Ryujin's eyes widen in worry. "Wait, don't cry—"

 

"Thank you." Jisu interrupted the younger. "For making me feel special after a long time— thank you, Ryujin."

 

Ryujin never thought it was possible to  _fall in love_  with someone in just three weeks, but when Jisu's arms wrapped her body in a strong hug and they stayed warm inside of each other's embrace for the rest of the night, she noticed she was wrong. 

 

 

**—**

 

 

A week passed by after the night Ryujin spent at Jisu's house and the actress was starting to get worried. She thought they would be closer than never after that talk, but the singer seemed to be getting more and more distant as the time passed.

 

No  _good morning_ , no  _how are you_ , no  _did you eat_ , nothing — Jisu haven't texted the actress in a week and Ryujin was  _too_  afraid and  _too_  insecure to try and start a conversation.

 

The younger girl tried to convince herself that Jisu was just busy, that her schedule was too hectic, but her heart kept telling her otherwise. She felt that it was all because she talked too much, because she  _exposed herself_  too much, and that Jisu somehow understood what she truly meant under all of those reassuring words.

 

Ryujin feels stupid because now Jisu probably knows about how she feels about her and it's too afraid to break her heart. Jisu likes someone else, after all — even though Ryujin tends to forget about that small detail everytime they are together.

 

And to make everything even worse, her manager just told her that their agencies decided to make the public announcement about their relationship this weekend.  _Great, really great,_ Ryujin thought as she already imagined how awkward would it be to stay in the same place as Jisu again, specially when they would have to act like a sweet couple to the cameras — not to mention they would have to act like they weren't being photographed, too.

 

The thought of seeing Jisu again made the actress anxious for the rest of the week. She couldn't focus on her schedules, couldn't memorize her script and the dark circles under her eyes gave away the nights she spent wide awake thinking about the singer and about how afraid she was to see her again.

 

So, to say Ryujin was surprised when her phone vibrated a few minutes before their meeting and Jisu's name shined on the screen was an understatement.

 

 **_angel who i'm in love with_ **  
_are you ready for tonight?_

 

All the actress wanted to do was to scream and throw her phone out of the window, but she calmed herself down and quickly typed a reply.

 

 **_ryujin_ **  
_i'm nervous tbh_

 **_angel who i'm in love with_ **  
_me too..._

 

And that's where their conversation died.

 

Ryujin was confused and a billion of thoughts were running through her mind, making her sweaty hands shake even more. She wanted to blame someone else for it — Jisu, God, her stupid boss, anyone would do, but she knew she couldn't.  _It simply wasn't anyone's fault that she fell for Jisu,_ and even though it was hard and she thought of it hurt like  _hell_ , she had to deal with the reality of her unrequited love.

 

And with a heavy heart and trembling hands, Ryujin jumped on her motorcycle and made her way towards Jisu.

 

 

 

Ryujin was the first one to arrive at the park their agencies told them to meet, immediately noticing some cameras and some movements coming from inside of some vans parked nearby. Dispatch wasn't subtle at all, Ryujin learned as she did her best to distract herself by playing some dumb games on her phone.

 

She was about to lose a fourth time at  _Subway Surfers_  when she felt soft hands over her shoulders, making her turn around abruptly only to find Jisu's kind eyes staring back at her. Ryujin even thought she was acting at first, but when the older girl grabbed her hands and took her behind a huge tree the actress knew something else was up — staying so close to each other behind an old tree was the last thing they were supposed to do that night, Ryujin was sure of that.

 

"What are you doing—"

 

"Just hear me out, okay?" Jisu pleaded and Ryujin could only sigh, letting the older girl speak. "Listen, I— I'm so sorry for not texting you this week. I know it was weird, but after you left my house that day I just— I had a lot in my mind."

 

Jisu was nothing but a stuttering mess and it was starting to make Ryujin get genuinely worried because she never saw the other girl in that state. The actress swallowed her pride and took Jisu's hands on hers, squeezing it lightly to let the singer know she was listening and that she wouldn't run away.

 

"Remember the day we first talked at that coffee and I told you about the girl I liked?" Ryujin nodded slowly, feeling her heart break at the mention of it. "Well, i'm not sure if I still feel the same for her. No, actually, I know I don't anymore, that's in the past now because—"

 

The words got caught up on Jisu's throat and Ryujin felt like she was about to explode with each passing second of pure silence, her grip on the older's hands getting tighter as they glanced back at each other.

 

"Because I like you, Ryujin. I fell for you."

 

Ryujin thought she was going crazy for a second — maybe that was just one of her many unrealistic dreams. But then Jisu's hands found their way to her cheeks and it was like a merciless wave of reality hit her entire body, from head to toe, making her feel so much at such a short amount of time that the actress felt like she was about to faint.

 

But she couldn't, not when Jisu was getting closer to her, not when she could feel her hot breath against her cheek, not when their lips finally met and melted against each other like a fairytale.

 

Ryujin felt like she was walking over the clouds, completely forgetting about the fact that they were probably being photographed and that they would be everywhere on the internet and television in the next day. She was too busy tasting Jisu's strawberry lips to care about anything else, specially when the older girl kissed so well.

 

Choi Jisu was an amazing singer, an angel on earth and a great kisser. And on top of all of that, she loved the actress back.

 

Ryujin couldn't get any more lucky.

 

 

**—**

 

 

"I told you guys this was going to work, look how many articles!"

 

Ryujin's boss exclaimed happily as he scrolled through his phone and the two girls were too happy to even care about how annoying he was being, too busy giggling at each other and holding hands under the table.

 

"This is the  _fake dating_  of the century!" Said Jisu's boss, and the girls couldn't help but to burst out laughing at his words.

 

"I wouldn't say fake anymore." Ryujin wiggled her eyebrows as she raised their clasped hands for everyone in the room to see, giggling quietly at their shocked reactions.

 

They were bombarded by questions after that and the couple happily answered every single one of them, even if they didn't have to — they were just happy and in love and wanted to show off, that's all.

 

And after they started dating, even Ryujin's bad days where everything seemed to go wrong were, somehow, good.

 

If she got coffee all over her body, Jisu would be there to lend clean clothes.

 

If she didn't eat, Jisu would be there to share her own breakfast with her.

 

If she didn't get enough sleep, Jisu would be there to sing to her until she felt comfortable enough to fall asleep with her head resting on the older's lap.

 

If someone messed with her, Jisu would be there to protect her and give them and a piece of their mind — yes, the singer was kind, but she would kill anyone who dares to hurt her girlfriend.

 

Ryujin even became thankful for her bad days because, if the worst one of them didn't exist, she wouldn't have met her guardian angel.

**Author's Note:**

> i suck at writing confession scenes,,,,, yay
> 
> anyways, i really hope you guys liked it!! and i'd like to thank for all the feedback i got on my previous fic,,, it made me really happy and was one of the reasons why i got so excited to write this bigger one <3
> 
> see you guys later and happy #Itzy7thWin btw!
> 
> (support my fics and aus on twitter! @shinyeons)


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